The Repair Shop: Suzie Fletcher restores leather folder
In a classic episode of The Repair Shop, which aired on Monday, a guest named Nicole Howe, from Essex, brought in a historic item which was linked to a bygone era.
She presented leather expert Suzie Fletcher with a bobbin hat which were worn by the porters at the old Billingsgate Fish Market, in London, and they used to carry boxes of fish on their heads.
It belonged to Nicole’s grandfather, Harry, who was able to carry 18 stones on his head of fish and ice when he worked at the market, despite being only five foot two inches tall.
“He [Harry] was there for 43 years and he had a good life from it,” Nicole explained as she referred to him as a “proper grafter”.
“I a really looking forward to getting my hands on it and getting started,” an excited Suzie said as Nicole left the famous BBC barn.
READ MORE The Repair Shop’s Suzie Fletcher admits finding poignant restoration ‘scary’
Old Billingsgate Wharf had been a fish market for centuries and was at once time the biggest in the world. But the old market closed in 1982.
Inspecting the hat, Suzie said: “This is quite remarkable. As a hat, I am thinking how uncomfortable this looks. It is so hard, the leather, and there are some whopping great nails sticking out here.”
She added: “It’s in pretty poor condition. It is incredibly dirty, so the very first thing I need to do is give it a very good clean.
“The reality is, it is not going to look brand-new, nor should it. My vision is that it will be in a refreshed, preserved state, where this can be kept for the family to tell the story of Harry’s incredible life in Billingsgate Market.”
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“The thing with old leather is, if you allow it to get too dry, it simply turns to dust,” Suzie admitted.
She rubbed some protective cream onto the hat which was being absorbed, and prompted her to add: “I can almost see a glimmer of what it will look like when it is finished.”
Later on, Suzie had to use a homemade leather paste to apply to the hat’s most worn-out areas.
At the end of the episode, the guest returned to the barn, admitting to host Jay Blades and Suzie: “I don’t know what you have been able to do because it was so dusty and cracked – so I just hope it’s got a little bit of its integrity back.”
The guest was blown away by Suzie’s repair work, telling her: “It still looks old, but clean and it just looks fantastic, thank you.”
Suzie said she was focused on making the hat both clean and stable to keep her grandfather’s memory alive.
“This being repaired is part of the fabric of London’s history,” the guest explained as she exclaimed how much she wanted to show her dad the finished product.
The Repair Shop episodes are available to watch on BBC iPlayer.
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